KRET and the Foundation for Advanced Research (FAR) are working together to create a phased array antenna based on radio-photons. The fundamentally new system will be installed on airships and used in missile defense.

"Currently we are conducting major research with FAR to create an antenna system based on the principles of radio-photons,” said Vladimir Mikheev, adviser to the first deputy CEO of KRET, as reported by TASS.

He emphasized that the antenna will be designed within the next two years. "We are planning to begin production of the radar based on the principles of radio-photons by 2020,” said Vladimir Mikheev.

In the future, he said, the antenna system based on the principles of radio-photons can be mounted on airships and used as part of the missile defense system. "There is no need to build a huge antenna on the ground when you can simply raise the antenna to the necessary height and look beyond the horizon,” said Vladimir Mikheev.

As previously reported, state investment in the project for developing an active phased array radar based on radio-photons will amount to 680 million rubles.

Radio-photons are an analog of electronics, though photons, unlike electrons, have neither mass nor charge. The new concept will reduce the weight of the equipment by 1.5-3 times, increase its reliability and efficiency by 2-3 times, and increase the scanning speed and resolution dozens of times over. Radio-photon antennas will also be resistant to electromagnetic impulses from lightning strikes or solar magnetic storms.

This will help create broadband radars whose resolution and speed enable what is called radar sight. Such systems also have application the civilian sphere too, for example in helping high-speed trains instantly detect obstacles on the tracks.